Russia and West - Softcover

Hough, Jerry F

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0671675583 ISBN 13: 9780671675585

Publisher: Touchstone, 1990

Synopsis

Explains the social, political, and economic forces behind Soviet reform

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

According to Hough (The Soviet Leadership in Transition), Mikhail Gorbachev's liberalization of the Soviet Union is essentially a middle-class revolt; his immediate need is to build shifting coalitions in a multinational society with some 20 ethnic groups; and modernizing Soviet technology is possible only if he attacks the protectionism that communist manufacturers now enjoy. These are among the lively, combative conclusions presented by the author, a professor of political science at Duke and staff member of the Brookings Institution. He is critical of what he terms America's cliche-ridden foreign policy, which is based on historical anti-Sovietism. Maintaining that the U.S.S.R. has achieved far more of its socialist goals than most Americans realize, he argues that Marxism-Leninism can be an engine for drastic reformseven those some would label capitalistic. Hough further recommends that the U.S. adopt a flexible posture if Gorbachev should succeed in opening his country to the West.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

Hough (Brookings Institution and Duke University) offers an account of recent Soviet policy consistent with the level of his earlier work and with his reputation as a leading scholar. The book's centerpiece concerns the "continuation" of Soviet foreign policy from its domestic policy, and implications for the United States. The "West" receives little sustained attention. However, general readers will be challenged by the author's interpretation of Gorbachev in the context of Soviet history and the misinterpretations Hough finds in the American press. Experts will appreciate the detailed balance given personnel and policy change under Gorbachev. Recommended for most public and academic libraries. Zachary T. Irwin, Behrend Coll., Pennsylvania State Univ., Erie
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Touchstone
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0671675583
• ISBN 13: 9780671675585
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288